Golf club



Jan. 19, 1965 J. H. ONIONS 3,166,320

GOLF CLUB Filed Now 20. 1961 INVENTOR J Ohn 'Hemrr Uni ns BY Mam wow ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,166,320 GOLF CLUB John Henry Onions, Alma House, Upper Spring Lane,

Kenilworth, England Filed Nov. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 153,493 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 29, 1961,

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-80) This invention relates to golf clubs of the class commonly known as woods, which are usually made with heads of persimmon or other word, the heads being weighted with lead, although corresponding clubs, manufactured with heads of plastic material or light metal are regarded as coming within the same class.

Clubs coming within the class known as woods include the driver, the brassy, the spoon and the baify, and are provided with heads having an integral neck extending outwardly from the heel of the head at a suitable angle to receive a straight shaft, the neck and head being formed with a hole to receive the end of the shaft which extends down substantially to the sole of the club.

The axis of the shaft must lie in a plane transverse to the direction of swing of the club, substantially parallel to the plane of the striking face of the club and, with a straight shaft, this means that the striking face of the club is necessarily in front of the said plane containing the shaft axis. It has long been established that better stroke control and greater accuracy of play is provided by having the striking face of the club in or behind the said plane containing the shaft axis, and it is the object of the present invention to provide a golf club in the wood class in which the striking face of the club is in or behind the said plane.

According to the present invention, in a golf club of the class commonly known as woods, and comprising a head mounted on a shaft the shaft is formed with a single bend adjacent its end which carries the head, the lower portion of the shaft, to which the head is secured, being inclined downwardly and rearwardly relative to the upper portion of the shaft so that the striking face of the club lies in or behind a plane transverse to the plane in which the club swings when striking a ball and containing the axis of the upper portion of the shaft.

The lower portion of the shaft is preferably inserted in a socket in the club head which extends obliquely downwardly towards the toe of the club head and rearwardly away from the striking face.

The sole of the club may be so shaped that a portion thereof extending along the lower edge of the striking face is above the level of the main sole, a groove being provided between the said portion and the main sole.

A groove or recess may be provided which extends transversely of the club head across its rear face.

The invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of one form of golf club according to the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the club shown in FIG- URE 1 as viewed from the toe end of the head.

Referring to the drawings, the club head is provided with a substantially flat striking face 11 and with a neck for hosel 12 at its heel end, a hole being formed in the neck, which hole extends into the club head nearly to the sole of the latter and receives the shaft 13 of the club. The neck 12, as shown in the drawings, is inclined upwardly and outwardly from the heel end of the club head, and also upwardly and forwardly with respect to the striking face of the club, so that the hole, which extends longitudinally of the neck, extends ob- ,liquely downwardly towards the toe of the club 3,166,320 Patented Jan. 19, 1965.

and rearwardly away from the striking face.

The shaft 13, as shown in FIGURE 2 is formed with a single bend,at,14, adjacent the point where it emerges from the neck 12, the angle of the bend being such that the upper part of the shaft has its axis in a plane, transverse to the plane in which the club swings when striking a ball, which also contains the striking face 11 of the club. By making the bend 14 further from the bottom end of the shaft 13, the transverse plane containing the axis of the upper part of the shaft may be brought in front of the plane of the striking face 11.

The shaft 13 may be secured in position in the head 10 by any suitable means, for example by a screw passing through the shaft.

The golf club may be formed .to reduce the making of divots during a stroke.

For this purpose the sole of the club immediately behind the striking face 11 is formed at 15 with a narrow portion extending along the striking face which is raised above the lowest portion of the main sole 16, and a groove 17 is provided between the portion 15 and the main sole 16, the rear wall of the groove 17 being chamfered, or rounded as shown in the drawing, to merge smoothly into the main sole 16.

The heads of golf clubs according to the invention may be formed of light metal or of thermoplastic material and, when so formed, may be provided with a deep groove 18 extending across the rear face of the club, so that a somewhat resilient lip 19 is provided below the groove 18, a substantial portion of the main sole 16 being on the lip. The resilience thus provided reduces bouncing of the club it it is caused to swing too low during a stroke, and also reduces the weight of the head, which is advantageous because thermoplastic materials and light metals are usually of greater density than the wood commonly used for such club heads. The construction delays the bounce so that it takes place after the club has hit the ball instead of before.

Club heads according to the invention may be made of persimmon or other wood commonly used for this purpose, the groove 18 then being omitted.

The club head may be secured to the shaft by means other than a screw. For example, the shaft may be grooved longitudinally to fit a correspondingly shaped hole in the club head, or may be formed with a screw thread to mate with a corresponding screw thread in the hole in the club head, an adhesive being used to hold the parts together. In the case of club heads of thermoplastic material, they may be moulded on to the shafts, the ends of the latter being suitably shaped to ensure a secure joint.

I claim:

A golf club of the wood type comprising a head provided with a substantially flat striking face and having a sole, a toe portion, and a heel end, a straight hosel formed at the heel end and having a longitudinal hole which extends into the club head behind the striking face nearly to the sole, said hosel being inclined upwardly and rearwardly away from the toe portion and forwardly toward the striking face of the club so that the hole extends obliquely downwardly towards the toe portion of the head and rearwardly away from the striking face, a. longitudinal shaft having a straight short lower end inserted into the hole a sufficient distance so that it is positioned behind the striking face and a straight upper long end, said shaft having a single bend adjacent the point where the shaft emerges from the hosel to form a line of demarcation between said ends with the upper end being substantially greater in length than the lower end, said upper end of the shaft being disposed relative E 919 to the striking face of the head sogthat said flat striking face of the club lies behind a plane Which is transverse to the plane in which the club swings when striking a ball with said flat striking faceand contains the longitudinal axis of the upper end of the shaft and means, fixedly securing the lower end of the shaft in the hole.

' References Cited; by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 669,864 3/01 Simpson 273--167 682,960 9/01 Slazenger 27380.1

6/05 Taylor 273-813 XR 3/25 Esrnond' 273-167 3/29 Hincks 273--164 11/42 Carvill 273172 3/57 Brandon 273-77 FOREIGN PATENTS 1937 Great Britain. 6/56 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. EVON C. BLUNK, Examiner. 

